The Illustrations of the Sky
by Autumn's Effervescence
Summary: ...For wouldn't even the sky desire companions? Or should reminiscence suffice for even such lonely beings? Team 7 fic. Naruto introspective.


Hello everyone! :D How are you all?

This is really just an oneshot on some ideas that I've been mulling over in Naruto. It also preludes to a different multi-chaptered Kekkei Genkai story that I've been planning on making, so I suppose it works out well, doesn't it? :D

Dialogue Interpretations:

" Character Speech "

_.: Character Thoughts :._

Disclaimer: … I don't own Naruto. And to make the point moot, I don't wanna, either.

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The sky was embroiled with the turmoil of utter darkness - lit occasionally by the stars which shyly glowed in the darkness like fireflies which never moved, content as they appeared in their own occupations in space.

Cerulean eyes blinked up happily at the dark skies, registering a mute joy before calling out exuberantly, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"...Is this what you brought us out for at 1 in the morning?" An irritated voice broke in. Accusing green eyes glowed with indignation as she turned her glare to the first speaker. "You idiot, Naruto! I thought that this was going to be something important!"

A blond boy, who appeared to be no older than 12, stepped out from the shadows, laughing sheepishly. "Sorry Sakura-chan. I really just wanted to share this with you both…"

"Hn." A new voice intruded, low and arrogant in disdain as a new figure stepped out from the shadows to observe the skies as well.

Azure eyes narrowed in irritation. .: _If Sasuke didn't wanna come along, he didn't have to! :._ The Uzumaki heaved a sigh - feeling his pent-up frustration leave him in that singular hiss of air.

"Well..." Sakura sighed softly, evidently taking pity on the blond, as she glanced up at the skies above. "I guess that it really is pretty, Naruto..." She paused, confusion evident in her voice. "I don't know. I don't take time off to look up at the sky, so this is a first for me."

"...This is a waste of my time." A snort of disdain echoed across the empty plateau.

"If you wanna leave, teme, I'm not stopping you!" Naruto shot back angrily. .: ... _All I wanted was to share this moment with you. :._ The words remained unspoken, but they sizzled quietly in the crisp morning air.

"Hn." Dark onyx eyes turned away the Uzumaki indifferently as he glanced briefly back up at the sky.

"Ne... Naruto?" Sakura interrupted the two, pointedly turning to Naruto to break up the argument. "Do you come here often? You seemed to know this place pretty well when you were leading us here."

"Kind of." Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly - feeling his smile fade slightly before stretching once more, almost like a mechanic doll with its utter blandness. "I liked to watch the sky change colors as a kid."

Sakura felt her eyes soften, the normal sharpness tinted in the green eyes fading to a warmer curve of delight. "You know... It's actually pretty nice up here, Naruto."

"Really, Sakura-chan?" The blond nin turned to her, cerulean eyes widened fractionally in surprise.

"It's so quiet here..." Sakura replied observantly. "It's peaceful."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah. That's one of the reasons why I like it so much up here actually."

"Hn." Sasuke scoffed. "I should've expected that you'd be the one to find a peaceful resting spot on the head of the Hokage Monument."

"If you don't like it up here, I already said that you're free to leave, teme!" Naruto fired back, blond hair askew as furious azure eyes turned to the Uchiha. "So just go!"

Surprise flickered in Sasuke's dark eyes before even the Uchiha chose to relent in his insults. "... It's not that bad up here if you're not constrained by time." His voice cut off abruptly in delivering the compliment in a way that seemed almost painful, pausing before continuing on, strained as his voice was. "Besides, there's a good aerial view of the village from up here."

Naruto felt a pinprickle of annoyance shoot through him even as the Uchiha voiced his thoughts. What was that bastard... Sasuke... planning to do? Map out the village from overhead and bomb it? No one really needed such a clear view of the village... Sometimes, it was nicer to just curb the sharp edges, blunt the razor-sharp sides and blur your vision so that everything was fuzzy...

"Ah... you're right, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, nearly squealing inwardly about the perception that the Uchiha must possess to notice such details, as she looked down in surprise.

"That's another reason why I like to come here." Naruto felt a familiar grin tug at his features as he turned back to the sights before them. "It has a good view." Looking below and seeing the soft hazy lights of the occasional shop, and innocent features of the buildings from above made things seem so much more simple than they really were, after all. It helped him clear his mind, for one, from the annoying buzz of real life.

"Though... Naruto? Won't it be kind of dangerous if we fall?" Sakura called as she gestured to her feet that dangled from the stone monument - nearly 500 feet off of the ground.

Naruto glanced back at her, confusion evident on his face as he spoke. "Didn't Kakashi-sensei teach us tree-climbing, Sakura-chan?"

"...I forgot." Sakura laughed sheepishly, feeling berated for forgetting what even the former Academy failure had remembered, as Sasuke scoffed in contempt.

"Everyone forgets sometimes, Sakura-chan." Naruto looked back up at the sky. "I know I do." A short carefree laugh accompanied this statement.

"Yeah..." Sakura murmured softly before calling out exubrantly, almost as if to compensate for her momentary loss of memory. "But it's so nice out here! How long have you been coming to this place, Naruto?"

"...A couple of years, I guess." Naruto shrugged half-heartedly. "Not too often anyways." Hesitating before biting out the words. "I just..." A sharp bubble of uncertainty welled up inside the Uzumaki. "...When I feel lonely... or when I just want a break from the world... I like to come up here."

Silence came from the others as he struggled to express his thoughts.

"It's kind of like... when I come here... I don't feel so lonely anymore up here... Seeing the village from up here... It makes everything seem so much more precious than if you see if from below..."

"How about the things above?" Sakura asked thoughtfully. "I mean... Think about it, Naruto. You can't see the skies from above, only below... Then how can we value seeing that? Or trees or the sun and feeling the freshness of the air every morning, for that matter?" She was getting thoughtful now, going back to her book-smarts, as she anaylzed the sky above critically, as if to determine their value and worth.

"No." Sasuke's melacholic voice interrupted the kunoichi. "Isn't the simple fact that the skies and wind exist enough for us to value them?" Onyx eyes stared impassively back at the two other Genin. "They never stop. They're always orbiting, always moving, no matter what happens to them."

Naruto blinked. So the great and mighty Uchiha _was_ capable of speech, after all? The mere suggestion blew his mind away.

"It's nice to take a look at the sky from up close, isn't it?"_ .: I never told you guys, did I, Sakura-chan... Sasuke-teme? How, sometimes, I wish that I was the sky... :._ Naruto smiled quietly, revealing nothing in his impassive gaze.

"I dunno why you'd do that." Sakura's brow wrinkled as she looked up at the sky in contemplation. "It looks the same as when it was far away. And plus, if it rains, you get water all over your face... Yuck."

"Well... The sky's pretty far up off the ground, though, Sakura-chan! I don't think that we can get too close to it, really." A short laugh accompanied the statement. "Besides... if we ever get up above the skies, won't we want to see what's above even the sky, and want to see above what's above the sky, too?"

"I don't know..." Sakura tilted her head to the side before groaning. "This is really getting too philosophical to me, Naruto. I'm getting a headache."

"What do you mean, Sakura-chan?" Azure eyes looked up innocently at her. "About philosophy?"

"You're contemplating what could be compared to what is." Sakura replied factually. "It's a major aspect of modern philosophy, isn't it?"

Naruto smiled, feeling his eyes curve into slits as he laughed softly. "I guess so, Sakura-chan..." .: _But whenever I think of becoming the sky, I always think of everyone that I'd leave down here..... It's a bit odd, isn't it? :._

"Hn." A word of acknowledgement passed from the Uchiha's lips in a sign of agreement with the Haruno's statement.

"Yeah, yeah..." Naruto muttered to himself before springing up again in a bubble of perpetual happiness. "It's kind of getting late... If we stay out any later, you guys will probably get a cold." Naruto paused. "... Did you guys like it up here?" A tiny curl of uncertainty lingered in his voice as he spoke.

"I did, actually." Sakura smiled at Naruto. Naruto glanced back at her, confused. Were there genuine emotions brewing in her eyes? There was a faint hint of something there... But he couldn't see what that emotion was through the soft smoky haze of emerald in her eyes. "It was fun."

"Hn."

"...Maybe we can come up here again another time?" Naruto offered tentatively, spurred on by their replies._ .: And I wonder... :._ He couldn't seem to stop his anaylsis of the sky._ .: ... Is it lonely being the sky? The sky wouldn't have any companions... Not Shikamaru or Kiba or Sakura-chan, or even Kakashi-sensei... It's alone. Without friends like Hinata-chan and Chouji... or, heck, even Sasuke-teme! :._

"Yeah. I think that I'd like to come up here again, Naruto." Sakura cast a wistful glance at the village below. "Maybe we should bring Kakashi-sensei here too, next time. It can be like a Team 7 outing..."

"I didn't know where he lived so I wasn't able to tell him yet." Naruto pointed out. "But maybe if we find out, we can call him over too." .: _And that's when I realize that I wouldn't give up anything I have here for the world. The sky is beautiful, but it's alone. At least down here... I have friends and companions. :._

"Let's ask him on the next Team 7 meeting, then." Sakura clasped her hands together. "And we can invite Ino-pig, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba... I need to make a list... I'll group everyone together for a party up here if you want, Naruto."

"Nah... I'd rather not." Naruto smiled serenely at the apphrensive looks on the other two Genins' faces at his negative reply. "I mean... I wanna show them personally... It wouldn't feel the same if I didn't." Even though Sakura was the social type, the type that no one could really say 'no' to, she'd begrude him this one favor.. wouldn't she? .: _No.... Sometimes, I still want to be the sky... But I always remember the loneliness, and the want leaves me... :._

Sakura's eyes softened in understanding. "Alright. We have a team meeting with Kakashi-sensei tomorrow at 5, don't we? You could ask him then."

Naruto smiled gratefully, voice muted with emotions. Clearing his thoughts, he spoke quietly, voice soft in the utter tranquility that fell about them. "Thanks, Sakura-chan." .: _And, at least, unlike the sky, I have friends and companions by my side... :._

"Alright!" Sakura called briskly, voice clear and sharp in the misty air of early dawn. "It's getting late. We should start getting home." A hint of a smile waned on her face. "I can help arrange for the others to meet you so you could talk to them about coming up here, Naruto." Sakura stood up, turning to the side as she spoke. "I'll set everyone aside to talk to you by tomorrow, at the latest."

Sasuke stood up, dusting the dirt off of his dark khaki jeans. "Let's go." He turned to the other side as the three made to split to go to their own respective homes from that point onward.

Naruto felt his eyes sparkle with happiness as he set off for his own home, diverging paths from the other two shinobi. "I'll see you both later then?" The question sounded tentative and childish, but cerulean eyes still glanced up anxiously for approval. .: _And I know then that I'd never become the sky for the world... :._

"Yeah." Sakura smiled briefly at him, a rare smile of kindness radiated down at the Uzumaki, like the warm sun, flickering occasionally under the dark gauze of clouds, but always returning to continue to spread light upon the world... Or was that himself that he was talking of? "We'll see you tomorrow, Naruto."

"Hn." The Uchiha turned his impassive gaze on him as well, if only for a moment, to signify his own goodbye.

Naruto felt his eyes curve upwards as a coil of joy sprung up from inside of him. .: _... For even the sky would desire companions. :._ "Ja ne, then, minna!" Calling out a quick goodbye to the others before setting off for home, feeling lighter than the wind itself as he set off for the slow trudge back home.

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COMPLETE AND UTTER FAILURE! DX

This turned out terrible... But still! I tried!

The story was supposed to be riveted entirely on Team 7. I tried to put some smaller element of darkness into this story, trying to point out the flaws of Team 7, while still highlighting their beauty as an initial team. Because really, Team 7 is an incredibly flawed team, and yet it's almost beautiful, the way that their team can function.

You'll notice that in the beginning, there was a lot of tension between the three, and from that animosity, they reverted to something completely different, nearly footing the line of friendship by the end of the story.

This has a tiny hint of mask!Naruto, but I tried to keep minimium traces of that - so good luck finding it. ;D

I really hope that this worked out... It took ages to get this down right, but... Maybe I'm just being a bit too optimistic and this is really just as terrible as I fear... DX

...Still... I hope you liked it and could follow through.

Drop off a review and have a nice day~! :D


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